9-02: Technology development and scale-up of the production of lignocellulosic ethanol using the microbe Clostridium phytofermentans.

Qteros is focused on accelerating the global commercialization of renewable biofuels by enabling the large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol at the lowest possible cost. The shift to non-food biomass (commonly referred to as cellulosic or lignocellulosic biomass) as feedstock for fuels and chemicals is driven by strong economic and regulatory factors.  Qteros’ unique and proprietary technology platform dramatically simplifies the process of converting cellulosic biomass into ethanol. Qteros possesses the novel microorganism, Clostridium phytofermentans, (the Q Microbe^®) capable of hydrolyzing pretreated cellulosic biomass and fermenting it to ethanol. The Q Microbe^® has the ability to convert both the C5 and C6 fractions of feedstocks, and also readily converts oligomeric sugars, reducing pretreatment requirements. We are combining our advanced microbiology with an expertise in process engineering to devise a unique, highly-efficient, and low-cost process to achieve efficient and profitable commercial-scale production of cellulosic ethanol.  Qteros’ technology development platform includes strain and process optimization and has recently scaled the fermentation process to 1000L.